Chapter 25: Plans

While the apprentices were out making preparations to search for Grovyle, the dastardly villain who was stealing the Time Gears, Wigglytuff and Chatot were discussing where to send them to search. The great Dusknoir had gone off to do some research, but once he returned he joined their discussion and offered his own suggestions.

"So you think that these three locations are the most likely to contain Time Gears?" Chatot asked in confirmation.

"Yes," Dusknoir replied with a nod of his head. "The Northern Desert is very wide and deep, and the nearly perpetual sandstorms often obscure the vision of those who traverse it, so it wouldn't be out of the question for a Time Gear to be there. It is even possible that one would be hidden in plain sight…"

"I see! Excellent deduction, Dusknoir, sir!" Chatot commended with pride. "What makes you suspect the other areas?"

"Crystal Cave is full of crystals. In my experience, crystals often house mysteries…" he frowned, seeming to become lost in a memory, before shaking his head. "I will admit that I do not have much evidence to back up my theory for why a Time Gear would be there, but…"

"Oh! No! It's quite all right!" Chatot assured. "The fact that you have even the slightest theory to begin with is a good reason to search there!"

"I thank you for your confidence," Dusknoir said. "You should be happy to know that for the third area, the Eastern Forest, I have a much more compelling reason for searching there."

"Oh oh?" Wigglytuff asked eagerly.

"The Eastern Forest… not only is it vast, like the Northern Desert, but it is also the setting for many legends. Including one that involved Time Gears…"

"Really?" Chatot asked with a frown. "I am the guild's head of intelligence, and yet I have heard no such legends…" he trailed off as he realized that Dusknoir could have taken that statement as an insult. "Oh! N-not that I doubt your word, sir! I just—"

Dusknoir cut him off with a chuckle. "It's quite all right," he assured. "The legends I'm talking about aren't very common—they are human legends."

Chatot stared in shock, but Wigglytuff grinned and exclaimed, "Wow! You know human legends? That's so amazing! Where did you learn them?"

"I have met one or two humans in my travels," Dusknoir admitted. "They were very eager to tell me." He chuckled a bit and amended, "Well, I say eager, but I believe it was more along the lines of an obsession with those tales. Honestly, for one who was normally quiet, it didn't take much prompting to get her to tell one. And once she got started, she could certainly go on for ages about them…"

"Uh… sir?" Chatot asked, trying to prompt Dusknoir back to focusing on the present.

Dusknoir blinked. "Ah… right. I apologize for my loss of focus. Thank you for bringing me back to the matter at hand."

"Oh! It's no problem!" Chatot assured, beaming at the recognition. "So, it is agreed that we will send the apprentices off to search these locations, yes? Now all we have to decide is who will go where."

"Hm…" Wigglytuff said, contemplating. "I think it would be best to send everyone out to where they have a type advantage."

"Good idea, Guildmaster!" Chatot agreed. "We know that Team Rainbow will be going together, so we should begin with them. Let's see… Laura is a Grass-type, so she would fare the best in the Northern Desert and Crystal Cave. Paula, on the other hand, is an Electric-type. She would not fare well in the Northern Desert, and she would have trouble in Crystal Cave as well… so I suppose that leaves us with having them explore the Eastern Forest. The inhabitants there should be varied enough in type that the two can cover each other's weaknesses."

Dusknoir frowned in thought. "No… that won't do. I need to ensure Laura's safety and, unfortunately, ignorance. It would be disastrous to send her to the Eastern Forest. If she did find something there, then it's almost certain that it would act as a trigger. That place is too deeply ingrained in her mind. She's already picking up things subconsciously—like the way she continues to walk the way she did as a human. It's almost a given that she would recognize the place, or some aspect of it, at least, and do something rash… and if the sableye weren't done packing by the time she got there, or if Grovyle left a message there for her… it would not be good.

"But it wouldn't be good to send her to Crystal Cave, either. I'm fairly certain that the crystals there are harmless, but on the off chance that there are a few of those there, then it's possible that it might trigger something, be it a memory or an episode. Either one would be disastrous at this point…

"It would look suspicious if I suggested that she remain behind, so I suppose that leaves no other option… the sandstorms might make it risky, but I could always give her some weather changing Orbs… and she is strong against most of those pokémon, so she should be able to make up for her partner's disadvantage… there's no other choice."

"If I may interrupt," Dusknoir suddenly said, causing Chatot and Wigglytuff to pause in their discussion about whether it would be better to send Sunflora to the desert or the cave—she, being a Grass-type like Laura, would fare well in either—and turned towards him. "I think that it would be more advantageous for Team Rainbow to explore the Northern Desert."

"But, Dusknoir, sir, with Paula's type disadvantage…" Chatot trailed off, slightly surprised at Dusknoir's suggestion.

"Yes, I understand that, but I think it would be beneficial for her. Isn't the point of this guild to train her to become a better explorer? If she were to fight at a disadvantage, it would be good experience for her. And Laura could always cover for her if she ran into trouble."

"Wow! What a great idea!" Wigglytuff exclaimed.

"I concur, Dusknoir, sir!" Chatot agreed. "When I look at it that way, it's a marvelous idea!"

Dusknoir smiled, "Thank you," he replied. "Now, about the others…"

The three discussed things a while longer before they came up with the concrete plan: Loudred and Corphish would search the Eastern Forest. Bidoof, Sunflora, and Dugtrio would be sent to Crystal Cave. That left Team Rainbow, as previously agreed, to search the Northern Desert.

"Okay!" Wigglytuff exclaimed happily. "Now we just have to wait for our friendly-friends to come back so we can tell them our plans!"